Better Than Yours
by lilmissryry
Summary: A series of fun One-shots and Song-fics with the VA characters! Not in chronological order, they're all just random events. Leave a suggestion in the reviews!
1. Rose's Milkshake

**Okay, **so this fic is basically a series of One-shots with the VA characters. They're all just fun, random stuff. The song for this One-shot is "Milkshake" by Kelis. I'm telling you, even if you've heard the song before, GO LISTEN TO IT AGAIN! It'll make this Song-fic _so_ much better!

**A side note... **My Song-fics aren't the ones where song lyrics are included. Instead, I take the story from the song and include the VA character in it. This chapter is an example haha.

**If you have any suggestions **of other songs I can do, leave them in a review and I'll consider them! I'll also give credit in the chapter the idea is used in** :) **Thanks guys!

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I rolled out of bed, sensing Lissa's need for me. And then I had an overwhelming desire for a . . . milkshake.

It was weird, I know. Besides, I didn't even have the patience to make milkshakes, even though I knew how to make them. Although I could just go to one of the many cafés at Court and just order one. But still.

I yawned and stretched, walking over to my closet. We had gotten our assignments last week, and we've been at Court ever since. It pretty much goes without saying that I _did_ in fact get Lissa, despite my bad behavior. Dimitri had been assigned to Christian, which I was totally grateful for. I was able to see him _all_ the time, and he would be with us when Lissa and Christian signed up for classes at Lehigh next semester. We were a little surprised when we found out he was allowed to be a guardian again (after an astounding amount of tests were ran, of course). But none of us were as surprised as Dimitri. None of them were as happy as me.

Eddie was also here. Assigned to _Mia_. I was shocked when I found out, because Mia wasn't royal. Non-royal Moroi didn't always get guardians, and the fact that she got Eddie was even more surprising. He was damn good at being a guardian, and a ton of royals had wanted him. I don't know how Mia did it. But I was glad, for more than one reason. Eddie and Mia were also a couple. We all knew it would happen eventually. They were adorable, and I sincerely hoped they worked out. Both of them deserved to be happy.

Everyone who mattered most to me was here at Court. Even Adrian, but he didn't have any personal guardians since he wasn't eligible yet.

Adrian had finally gotten over me. Well, he wasn't exactly _over_ me (he still flirted and teased) but he had found someone to hold him over. He seemed to really like her, too. His girlfriend was Sydney.

Adrian and Sydney had already met once before in Vegas, when we were trying to find Victor Dashkov's half-brother so that we could convert Dimitri back to his dhampir state. Adrian hadn't been interested in Sydney back then because of the somber mood our trip had put him in. He wasn't amused when he found out the real reason behind our run-away to Las Vegas. Sydney, on the other hand, had grudgingly admitted to me that he was cute. Privately, though.

The second time that Adrian and Sydney met was accidental. I had been in my room talking to her on the laptop Abe had given me a long time ago, and he just sauntered through the door like he owned the place. Which, technically, he did. He _was _the great-nephew of Tatiana, and Tatiana ran the Court.

I had really laid into him for that. For all he knew, I could've been naked. Unsurprisingly, he said he wouldn't have minded that.

He listened quietly while Sydney and I chatted, although the conversation had turned awkward upon his arrival. Reluctantly, I'd asked Adrian if he wanted to talk to Sydney before I signed out. I just felt like it would've been rude to not let them talk to each other when they had already met before.

Adrian agreed, and with one final glance at Sydney I left the room. I had figured she would be angry that I'd left her alone to talk to a vampire, but when I looked at her, she actually looked . . . anxious. In a good way. Like she _wanted_ to talk to Adrian. I thought it was a little weird for her, but I didn't bother pushing her for details when they were finished talking later on.

I was okay with pushing Adrian, though. When I asked him what they had talked about, he told me that he'd invited her to Court. My jaw dropped. "You _what_?" I asked, dumbfounded. Don't get me wrong; I wasn't upset. We had mutually decided to take a break now that Dimitri was back. We both needed time to figure out what we wanted. But I wasn't expecting him to invite the Alchemist to Court.

And I _certainly_ hadn't expected her to agree. Adrian sent a private jet and everything to pick her up. In the meantime, I stayed in a constant state of confusion. Adrian explained that it had taken a lot of convincing to get her here, and even some bribery. Then he had to pull a few strings with Abe and her superiors, whoever they were. And finally, he had to ask Tatiana for permission. She didn't really like that an Alchemist would be here, but she liked Adrian, and she couldn't exactly say no to Abe.

We told her that Sydney was a friend of mine and Lissa's. We knew that if the Queen thought that Adrian wanted her here, she would say no. She wouldn't have approved of her great-nephew dating a human.

So Sydney arrived, taking up a little apartment over where Mia lived, and Adrian promptly asked her out on a date. I had already saw this one coming, fortunately. He talked to me about it, asking if I was okay with him asking the Alchemist out. I told him I didn't mind. I was telling the truth, too. Yeah, it was a little strange to see my ex-boyfriend going out with one of my good friends, but the shock wore off soon. And I was really happy for them, too. They were cute. And I was finally able to go back to seeing Dimitri without feeling guilty about breaking Adrian's heart. We were all happy.

I grabbed my usual guardian black-and-white from my closet and got dressed, promptly leaving to meet Lissa. The other guardian assigned to her, a woman named Lillian, was with her. Her shift let out into a break when I got there.

Lissa and Christian lived together in a generous-sized town house that reminded me of Adrian's parents. This also meant that Dimitri, Lillian, James (who was Christian's other guardian) and I lived together as well. It was nice.

Lissa was at a donut shop with Christian, Lillian, and Dimitri. I was glad, too. My earlier craving for a milkshake had come back.

"Hey, Liss," I said, sauntering in. I smiled and nodded at Lillian and Dimitri. Lillian returned the gesture and left, taking her break.

Lissa grinned and motioned to the spot across from her at the booth, but I shook my head. Sometimes Lissa forgot that as a guardian, I had to protect her. It would be more difficult for me to do that if I had to first climb out of a booth. I took the seat by Dimitri instead. He was sitting at a table next to hers, drinking coffee.

Christian was sitting next to Lissa, reading a magazine and chewing a donut. I didn't bother acknowledging him.

"So what's up?" I asked to no one in particular. I looked at Dimitri.

"Lissa learned a new trick," he smiled.

I looked over at Lissa curiously. "Did you charm a new object?"

She laughed. "No. I learned how to cook!"

I blinked. "Liss, that's not really a trick. . . ."

Christian snorted. "It is for Lissa. She woke up this morning and was finally able to make something resembling food."

I snickered. Lissa shot me a look. "Just for that, you're not allowed to use my new blender!"

"How many new appliances did you buy?" I asked. My stomach growled when Lissa mentioned a blender. Damn that milkshake craving.

Lissa bit her lip. "A lot. . . ."

I groaned. Christian spoke up. "She made one dish for every appliance in the kitchen. By the time she was finished, there was an entire buffet on the table. Can you believe she expected me, Dimitri, and Lill to eat it all?"

"How was it?" I asked. I needed to know whether or not I would have to avoid Lissa in the kitchen.

"I thought it tasted great," Dimitri said. I looked over at him, and he was smiling at Lissa. She ducked her head, embarrassed at his praise. Her feelings through the bond told me she felt proud, though.

"It did," Christian agreed. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"

Lissa looked up and punched him in the arm. It wasn't enough to hurt him, obviously, and he caught her hand and kissed it.

I willed myself not to gag. "I've had the _worst_ craving for a milkshake ever since I woke up. I seriously might die if I don't get one."

Dimitri said he would watch Lissa and Christian while I went and ordered one. Pulling out my wallet, I walked up to the cashier. "Can I get a large milkshake?" I asked him.

He snorted, and I saw him take a peek at my stomach. I glared and I saw him pale a bit. That's right, I was ordering a large milkshake. And if he had a problem with that, I'd be more that happy to introduce his face to my fist. "Um, we don't have milkshakes here . . . Guardian Hathaway, ma'am."

I smirked and walked away. Kiss-ass.

Sighing, I sat back down in the chair. "Lissa, they don't sell milkshakes here. Can we go back home and make one?"

Lissa shrugged. "Only if you make me one too."

"And me," Christian chimed in.

I looked at Dimitri. "You want one too?"

He thought it over for a while, and then grinned. "Sure. We'll see if you make one better than Lissa."

Lissa and Christian finished up, and Dimitri tossed out his coffee cup as we walked out of the café towards our house. I took far guard.

I practically sprinted to the blender when we got back home. It was _beautiful_. I ran my hands along the shiny black surface for a moment before running back to the fridge to pull out ingredients. Everyone else walked in and took a seat somewhere around the kitchen, watching me. Dimitri and Lissa were highly amused.

When I was done raiding the fridge, I had placed 2 ½ cups of frozen blueberries, 1 ¼ cups of apple juice, 1 cup of vanilla frozen yogurt, ¼ cup of skim milk, and ¾ cups of ground cinnamon on the counter. I turned on the blender, threw it all in, placed the top on it, and waited. Within a minute, my milkshake was done.

I turned off the blender and grabbed some cups. I passed one around to everyone. Christian thought it was necessary to sniff his before tasting it.

"You guys saw me make it, it's not like it's poisoned," I grumbled.

Christian snorted. "With you, one never knows."

I stuck my tongue out at him before taking a sip of my own. I watched from over the brim of my glass as they all tasted theirs.

Almost simultaneously, reactions broke out.

"Oh my God, Rose, this is amazing!" Lissa shrieked. Dimitri nodded his agreement, eyes wide. He was still drinking, having not removed the glass from his lips since they touched it, and I assumed he would finish the entire thing before bothering to speak.

Christian mumbled something under his breath. I narrowed my eyes. "What was that, Sparky?"

He glared at me. "I said, it tastes great."

Lissa eyed him. "Is it better than mine?" She looked like she would murder him if he said no.

Christian, being the idiot he is, didn't notice this. He laughed. "Yeah, it's better than yours!"

"Damn right!" I added jokingly.

Adrian, Sydney, Eddie, and Mia all walked in then, saving Christian from whatever fate Lissa had been about to doom him to. I walked over and gave Sydney and Mia hugs.

"What's better than Lissa's?" Adrian asked, sitting down on the couch beside them.

"Rose's milkshake," Dimitri told him.

Eddie grinned. "Yeah, Rose's milkshakes literally bring everyone to the yard," he laughed. "They're totally kick-ass. What'd you make?"

"I call it my 'Blueberry Morning Milkshake'. I'd teach you how to make it, but I'd have to charge."

Mia laughed. "I want some!"

I went back over to the blender and poured the newcomers a glass, and refilled my cup. Dimitri got up too, also needing a refill. Glutton.

Sydney and Adrian seemed to feel the need to give theirs a sniff test as well. I groaned.

I watched as they took a small sip, having deemed it edible. Adrian's expression was much like Dimitri's.

"My, my, little dhampir! Who knew you'd be good in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, really!" Sydney said. "I guess the evil creatures of the night really _are_ good for something."

"Watch it," I warned. "Or this evil creature of the night might slip something in your next drink."

Later on, Lill and James returned. They each had some of my awesome milkshake, too. I smiled as everyone seemed to love it - even the guys. I grinned to myself as I thought,

_My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. Damn right, it's better than Lissa's._

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**So, what do you think?** Again, leave a review for a suggestion for my next Song-fic! (Not all of these chapters will be song-fics though, but most of them will be.) By the way, no, Rose and the gang don't know the song. I wanted it to be kind of ironic that the situation fit the lyrics, and that's how it's going to be with the rest of the song-fics haha. I'll have another chapter up in a few minutes, so look out for it!  
**xoxo,  
**Ryan


	2. Trick or Treat

**This One-shot is between Rose and Lissa, **from Lissa's point-of-view. Remember the photo of Rose and Lissa dressed up as fairies for Halloween while they were living amongst humans? I made a one-shot about that **:) **Enjoy!

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"Rose!"

She froze, looking up at the sound of my voice. She had a mouth full of chocolate, and was holding what was left of the Hershey bar in her hand.

I tried to be serious and chastising, but the sight of her raiding my candy bag was just too funny. I burst out laughing.

She looked at me oddly for a few seconds before the corners of her mouth began twitching, and then she was laughing too.

I recovered first. "You ate all my candy!"

We were still in our fairy costumes. We went trick-or-treating earlier with a few friends of ours, and we were going to be leaving soon for a party one of our housemates had invited us to. I had been searching all over the house for Rose before finally finding her holed up behind the couch, the sound of paper crinkling alerting me to where she was.

Rose grinned impishly. She had chocolate on her teeth. "I'm not sorry. It was good."

I laughed, not even mad. "I'm sure. We're going to get even more at the party. But in the meantime. . . ." I walked over to where she was and snatched the candy away. Rose looked heartbroken. "I'm taking what's left of my candy back. Get yer own."

"I will!" she laughed. "And I did get my own! But I ate it all."

"I'm not surprised," I giggled. "Come on, we have to get ready to go. Jeremy will be here any minute to pick us up."

Rose brushed the crumbs off of her fairy costume and stood up, going up the stairs to our room to re-do her makeup. Hopefully she would brush her teeth. And floss.

I followed her and did the same. Our costumes matched, and it was my idea to be fairies. Rose had wanted to be sexy nurses, but I told her it was cruel for a vampire to dress up as a nurse. She just laughed at me.

Our makeup was really hard to get off, and the glitter kept getting in my eyes as I tried to wipe my face clean to re-apply it. I came close to just throwing in the towel and going without makeup, but I knew Rose would just force me down and do it herself. I almost welcomed the thought. I kept messing it up.

Finally, we finished, looking decent. Well, _I_ looked decent. Rose looked hot.

She must've sensed my thoughts because she immediately turned around, looked me up and down, and said, "Nice job, sexy." She winked, and I laughed, shoving her out the door as Jeremy rounded the corner.

"Come on, Smooth Talker. Our ride's here."

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**Sorry it's short. **This whole thing came to me literally seconds before I fell asleep, and I just had to write it. I didn't exactly want it to be too long, it was more of a moment-long memory kind of thing. Something that described some of the events of that long-ago day between them. Hope you like! Review please** :)  
xoxo,  
**RyRy


	3. Waking Up In Vegas

**Hey guys :) **Don't forget: You can suggest songs for my next Song-fic! The song for this chapter is "Waking Up In Vegas" by Katy Perry. I thought it would be funny, so enjoy and review!

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I had the worst fucking headache ever.

I sat up in my bed and looked around. The first thing I noticed (after the headache, of course) was that I wasn't even in _my_ bed. Or my room. Or my . . . clothes?

I felt something move next to me, and I jumped practically ten feet in the air. I grabbed my stake, which I had thankfully noticed on the nightstand table, and pulled the cover back quickly.

"Aah!" Adrian screamed, at the same time that I screeched, "What the fuck?"

I put my stake away, pissed off. "What the hell, Adrian?"

Adrian sat up, still obviously afraid of me. He sat as far away as the bed would allow. And he was _shirtless_.

"You have exactly five fucking seconds to tell me what the fucking hell is going on here."

"Did you know you just swore five times in three sentences?"

"Four!" I shouted.

"Okay, okay!" He held his hands up in defense. "I don't even know what's going on. We're in a hotel room. . . ."

"No shit!" I yelled. I looked down. I don't know why or how, but I was wearing the most glittery outfit the world could possibly think up. And it was skimpy, too. I looked like a fucking show-girl.

"Where are we?" I tried my best to calm down, and the fact that I didn't just swear in that sentence was proof of how well I was doing.

"Um . . . Las Vegas?" Adrian rubbed his eyes with his palm.

I almost lost the little bit of self-control I had been maintaining. I took a few deep breaths. "How did we end up in Las Vegas, Adrian?"

Apparently, my calm voice sounded scarier than my angry voice. Adrian looked like I was about to kill him, which I _was_, but at least I wasn't showing it. "I drove us here. . . . Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, I remember it all. I'm just asking you all of these dumb questions like I don't remember because I like to hear you talk."

Adrian scowled. "It's not my fault you don't know how to handle your liquor."

"I swear Adrian, if you don't start explaining, I _will _stake you."

I was almost surprised that he didn't stupidly comment on how I couldn't because "he wasn't a Strigoi". Smart boy.

"We drove here yesterday. You came to me saying how you were tired and in need of a vacation, and I suggested Vegas. You didn't want to come at first, but I convinced you that we would go back home the next morning. You agreed, and the first place you wanted to go was the Witching Hour. We went, we played the slots, went for a little bit of blackjack and poker, and then came back to the hotel room."

"I'm assuming we got totally and completely trashed too."

He grinned. "Well, you did. I was just a little tipsy."

I rolled my eyes. Sure. And then it hit me. "We didn't have _sex,_ did we?" I asked, a hint of panic to my voice.

Adrian gave me a dry look. "You're wearing a dress, aren't you? Besides, I wouldn't have sex with you if you wouldn't even be able to remember it the next morning. Why would I damage my own ego like that?"

He had a point. "Okay, so we didn't have sex."

"Want to?" Adrian leaned over and began kissing my neck. I moaned.

"Tempting, but I want to go and have some more fun that I can _remember_. Let's go."

I got up and searched the room for a pair of jeans. My earlier anger had diffused into happiness. I did need this vacation. Things at Court had been getting so difficult. We hadn't gotten our assignments yet, but we would soon. The waiting had been killing me though. I tortured myself with what-if's at night.

I abruptly froze, staring at my hand. "Adrian. . . ." I murmured.

He came over to stand beside me, his expression showing worry. "What's wrong?"

"What is this?" I thrust my hand at him, wiggling my ring finger.

He broke out into a grin. "That would be my class ring."

"Why is it on my finger?" I was so freaking confused.

"We got hitched last night. Can you believe some guy dressed up like Elvis was there?" He was so casual about it. I wanted to smack him. No, I wanted to _kill _him.

"We _what_?" I subconsciously reached for my stake that I usually kept strapped to the inside of my boots or in my back pocket, but I was in my underwear and my stake was still on the table.

Adrian noticed this. He backtracked, fast. "Rose, calm down! I was kidding, I swear!"

I took several heavy breaths, just like before. If Adrian didn't smarten up, he would be a lifeless corpse by the time this vacation was over. And my hangover still wasn't helping matters. "Adrian, I would watch it if I were you. Provoking a hung-over bitch-extraordinaire guardian isn't wise _at all_."

He gulped. "Sorry, Rose."

I continued putting on my jeans, my stake in a holster I had sewn onto the inside of my boots. Adrian sat on the couch, flipping through the TV channels. I patted my pockets.

"Hey, where's my wallet?"

"You threw it out last night. You spent every dime you had at the slot machines, decided your wallet was useless, and tossed it in the nearest trash can. Then you complained to me that you wanted a new one."

I was a little upset that I had no cash, but I knew that I had more back at Court, plus Adrian would be more than willing to pay for anything I wanted. And besides, I _did_ want a new wallet. Another thought occurred to me then. "Wait a minute, I'm not twenty-one yet. . . . How the hell did I get any drinks? Did you buy them?"

Adrian grinned and looked up from the TV. "Nope. You insisted on getting a fake I.D., so we got one."

I checked my pockets again. A fake I.D.? Way cool. "So . . . where is it?"

Adrian suddenly dropped his grin. "Uh. . . . It was in your wallet."

I groaned. "Shit. I actually used a fake I.D. and people totally bought it, and I can't even remember the experience."

He laughed. "You know I can just buy alcohol for you, right?"

Folding the dress up, I stashed it in my bag. It was nice, so I would keep it. "Yeah, but still. Come on, let's get the hell out of here and go do something."

We walked out of the room and headed downstairs. The Witching Hour was one of the most notorious hotel/casinos in Vegas. It was also owned by Moroi, so it fit their accommodations. The windows were tinted to block out sunlight, there were feeder rooms in the back, and there were secret underground tunnels connecting casinos so the Moroi could casino-hop without going out into the sun.

"Wait," Adrian grinned. "Let's play a round of poker first. Spirit users are amazingly good at gambling, you know." He winked.

"Yeah, amazingly good at _cheating_ at gambling," I allowed. "Fine. One round."

Adrian was definitely good at poker, so I wasn't worried about us losing any more money. Besides, his cash flow was probably unlimited anyways. I watched as he bet a hefty amount of money though, stone-cold shock coming over me. If he lost, I wasn't expecting for him to lose _that_ much.

"Adrian!" I gasped. "I know you're rich and all, but even you should have limits! We _do_ have to get back home after all."

"Relax, little dhampir," he smiled. "It's all part of the fun. Besides, if you're so worried, maybe you should put your money where your mouth is." He looked at me smugly, knowing I was broke.

But I wasn't. I had snatched his gold card from his wallet when he hadn't been paying attention. "I would love to," I told him, withdrawing his card and waving it around. "But I don't think they accept this."

Adrian gaped, and then made a grab for his card. "How did you-? Oh, you're bad." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, wrapping an arm around my waist.

I made sure he was watching me when I slowly and deliberately slipped the card back into the waistband of my pants. I actually had another holster strapped to my leg where I always kept my wallet, and that was where Adrian's card had been stashed. But the look on his face told me that he thought the card had disappeared into my underwear. He was practically drooling.

"I still want it back," he said, slipping back into his cocky-self and grinning. "Although you're tempting me to let you keep it."

I laughed and continued watching the game. "Come on," I said when he won. "You proved how 'good' you are at poker. Let's go." I air-quoted the word "good". Cheating didn't mean you were actually skilled at the game.

"Where'd you park?" I asked Adrian as we exited the Witching Hour.

"Around the corner. The car should be right. . . . Uh oh."

I stopped, immediately reaching for my stake. I didn't feel nauseous like I always did when Strigoi were near, but that didn't mean there couldn't be danger _somewhere. _"What's wrong?" I surveyed the area, but couldn't find any threats.

Adrian groaned. "My fucking car got hi-jacked! It's not here!"

I suppressed a groan of my own, and then I tried to muffle my laugh. "Adrian, you don't even own a car. You just borrow."

He scowled at me. "That's not the point. I rented a Lamborghini. And it's not here."

My eyes slowly widened to the size of saucers. "You rented a _Lamborghini_? And it's _not here_?" My voice rose with every word. I sounded hysterical.

He smirked. "Yeah. Any other words you'd like to repeat?"

I ignored him. "I can't believe you rented a fucking Lamborghini and now it's gone! God, Adrian!"

Adrian looked aghast. "_I_ can't believe you're blaming me for this! I should be blaming you. You're the one that was too drunk to tell me to park in a safer place."

"Don't blame me for this whole mess! _I_ wasn't the one driving. I also wasn't the one that rented the damn car. Did you lock the doors?"

"Of course!" And then he thought for a moment. Suddenly, he didn't look so sure. "I mean, why wouldn't I? Right?"

I shook my head at him and pinched the bridge of my nose between two fingers. This vacation was beginning to turn almost as stressful as being at Court had been. "Let's just get a taxi." I wasn't too concerned over it. It's not like Adrian owned the car, and besides, all of my personal belongings were in my bag in my room. My cell phone was in my back pocket. Anything Adrian lost could easily be replaced, and at least he had his wallet. I began walking back to the hotel.

"Wait," Adrian said, jogging to catch up to me. He was grinning. "Let's just rent another Lambo."

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**So, how was it...? :) **Please review guys! And man, I wish I owned a Lamborghini... Don't forget to leave a suggestion (if you want!) for my next Song-fic!**  
xoxo,  
**Ryan


	4. Screw Your Russian Attitude

**Just in case you guys were wondering, **this _isn't_ a song-fic to "Lip Gloss" by Lil Mama haha. This is just a scene where Rose began running out of lip gloss. Remember when Dimitri brought her some when she was in the infirmary because of the rotted bench she fell through in Vampire Academy? Well, yeah. This is when she first complained about her empty supply of lip gloss haha.

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"Shit," I muttered as I walked into the gym for my after-school practice with my Russian eye-candy.

I fumbled with my almost-empty lip gloss tube, trying desperately to squeeze some out. Dimitri still had me running laps in the morning, and my lips were taking a worse beating from the cold than I was. I had never actually run out of lip gloss before getting another tube before, so I was especially annoyed.

Dimitri looked up at the sound of my voice and footsteps. He was lounging in the middle of the room with a battered paperback. "What's wrong?"

I held up my lip gloss. "It's empty," I pouted.

Lissa and I have been at the Academy for about a month, so Dimitri had lightened up just the tiniest bit at my reckless humor and sarcastic remarks. I felt a spark of heat run through me when I saw his eyes crinkle with amusement.

"I guess you'll have to get that fixed then, won't you?" he asked, smirking.

Kill me now. Dimitri Belikov was smirking.

Just as fast as it had appeared, it was gone, his mouth smoothing out as he returned to his book.

"Russians and their damned smartassedness," I huffed under my breath as I walked past him to the door leading out to the track.

"Pardon me?"

I paused, looking back at Dimitri. Damn. I had _not_ meant for him to hear that.

He was doing the cool one-eyebrow thing that I desperately wished I was capable of doing. "That's not even a word, Roza."

_Roza_. He only called me that when he was in a good mood. I turned to him, resting my hands on my hips as I lifted my chin and stared him in the eyes. "Of course it is. Smartassedness. Look it up."

His lips turned up into a small smile as he shook his head disapprovingly. "Let's just be glad you're going to be a guardian and _not_ an English teacher."

My jaw dropped. "You know what, Dimitri? I don't need your attitude! I have my own."

"Trust me, I can see that."

I was about to open my mouth to say something else, but Dimitri beat me to it. "Are you aware that I began timing you for your laps two minutes ago?"

I narrowed my eyes, growling slightly at him before stomping out the door to begin my fifteen laps. "You owe me a new tube of lip gloss for this!" I shouted as I exited the gym and began running. And he had another thing coming if he tried to buy the cheap kind from the drug stores.

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**Please leave a review, guys! **And also, you can also just leave a suggestion for the one-shots I do too. I'm almost out of ideas for those haha. Thanks for reading, and again, please review **:)**  
**xoxo,**  
Ryan


	5. Hollaback Girl

**The song for this chapter is **"Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani. Go listen to it before you read this! The suggestion was from: **GoldenIvy**

**Thanks girl! **By the way, this chapter takes place at Rose and Lissa's human high school that they attended when they were in Chicago. I know it wasn't in the books, so I'm making it up cuz they really didn't mention much about Chicago.

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"Did you hear . . .?"

"He said she's a _slut_!"

". . .Bad in bed! Can you believe it?"

"She _didn't_! But I'm not all that surprised. . . ."

I shot Lissa a confused look as we passed by the multitude of whispering girls in the hallway. She didn't seem to know what it was about either. Everyone either turned away when they met my eyes or stared at me full-on and smirked. I was so lost.

Suddenly Madison, one of the nicest girls in school but also an . . . _acquaintance_ of Lissa's, popped up in front of me.

I glared at her, never too fond of her tendencies to jump out of nowhere on me, but she didn't seem to notice. "Rose, Lissa, have you heard the rumors? Ohmygod, I can't _believe_ it!"

I eyed her curiously. "What rumors?" Lissa was just as interested as I was.

Madison bit her lip nervously all of a sudden. "Well. . . . Rose probably heard them, since they're about her after all, but wouldn't that mean that you heard them too, Lissa?"

I froze, caught off guard. Lissa and I had been, more or less, laying low here, so this genuinely surprised me. "What _about_ me?"

Madison's eyes widened at the sharp note in my voice. She began stuttering, "Uh-um, well there's this rumor that you, ya know, slept with Josh and all, b-but he also said that you were, well. . . ." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Bad in bed. And you were willing to try anything."

I instantly felt my face heating up. Yeah, I had hung out with Josh last weekend, but I had certainly _not_ slept with him. And I also wasn't bad in bed. Not that I, or anyone else, would know. I was still a virgin.

"That _ass_," I growled. I immediately stalked off with Lissa in tow, not even waiting for Madison to catch up. I knew exactly where to find him.

Liss also knew I was after him. "Rose, what happened to what you said about laying low?" she hissed at me in a low voice.

"Screw that," I said. "No one fucks with Rose Hathaway and gets away with it."

She stayed silent after that. I marched across the football field. It was the end of the day, and practice was about to start soon. But the coach wasn't here yet and I still had time.

"Joshua Berardi," I yelled. "Get your ass over here!"

I watched as he looked over, face going from pissed to scared to smug. Oh, I'd be damned if that smirk wasn't wiped off his pretty face by the time I was through with him.

Lissa sighed, sensing that we would be here for a while. She went to go sit on the bleachers while she waited for me to finish up.

Josh jogged over to me, wrapping his arm around my waist as he leaned in for a kiss on my cheek. I shoved him away. "Hey baby, what's wrong?" he grinned.

I scowled at him. "Shut the hell up. I just heard that you were talking shit about us sleeping together. Did you think I wouldn't hear it? I wouldn't sleep with you if you were the _last_ piece of ass on earth."

I could see that he was getting upset now. He tried to play it off, though. "Babe, you and I both know you think my ass is cute. And I think you're overreacting."

I _did _think his butt was cute, but that wasn't the point right now. "Rest assured, no one gives a damn what you think."

He glared at me. "Listen here, slut-"

I snapped. I reached up and grabbed him by the throat, pulling him to my level. I was aware of all of the boys on the football team watching us, but I knew human jocks well enough to know that they would be looking forward to _watching_ a fight, not breaking one up. "No, _you_ listen. I'm not about to let you say whatever you want to and about me. If you think you're so tough, then meet me behind the bleachers tomorrow after school. We'll see how long you can last." I smiled sarcastically.

He reached up and yanked my hand from his throat, sneering at me. "At what? Talking about our _feelings_?"

I crossed my arms. "No. I've been around that track before, I already know I kick ass at it. I ain't no hollaback girl. I get _physical_." I leaned into him, giving the last word emphasis.

His smirk grew. "The entire school already knows that, _Rosie_."

Oh, that was it. He was done for. "Call me that one more time you bastard, and you'll be in a wheelchair by midnight. That's a promise."

He laughed. "Okay, sure, I'll play along. But on one condition."

"Name it."

"Loser tries out for cheerleading."

I came _this _close to my jaw dropping. No way. No fucking way.

And then a thought occurred to me. I was a dhampir and I had been training to be a guardian most of my life (the fact that I ran away from the Academy wasn't relevant), therefore I knew I was stronger than this human. And boy, I'd love to see him in a skirt.

"Deal."

* * *

"I cannot believe you're dragging me along."

I grinned at Lissa. We were on our way to the football field. School had ended a few hours ago, and night was beginning to fall. I knew this was risky business for Lissa since Strigoi came out at night, but I was being careful and we would be done before it got too late.

I was hoping Josh would be too chicken to show up for our face-off. Word had already gotten around to the rest of the school, so laying low was no longer an option for Lissa and I. No matter. We were in Chicago, far away from the Academy, so we had nothing to worry about.

"Sorry Liss, but you know you'd be dying to know who won if you stayed at home."

She smiled a little. "You're right."

My enhanced sight enabled me to see the crowd of people gathered around the back of the bleachers. They were mostly obscured from view, depending on where you entered the football field at.

I also saw Josh standing in the middle of it all.

I took a deep breath to clear my mind. I didn't want to go into this all tense and wound up.

Lissa went and stood by Madison, who immediately started chattering animatedly, and I sauntered up to Josh.

"I see you made it," I said.

He smirked. "Of course. Wouldn't miss this for the world, baby cakes."

I wanted to break his nose _so_ bad. But, being me, I wanted to play out the dramatic effect first. "I know. You want an excuse to wear a skirt too bad."

The crowd ooh'ed and aw'ed. Jake flushed, and I couldn't help thinking it was more from embarrassment than anger. "Actually, I think _you_ want the excuse to wear the skirt. It's another opportunity for you to be a whore, but without really sleeping with anyone this time."

I glowered. "So I'm assuming you want to get this started, huh? 'Cause you're just _begging _for me to kick your ass."

He gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "I'd beg for any chance to get physical with you again, Rose. Oh, that's right - _you_ prefer to do the begging. I forgot."

I growled. "Put your pom-poms down and make a move already."

This spurred him into action. Without wasting a second of precious time, he charged me. I knew him well enough to know he would go for my waist. I mean come on, he's a football player for Christ's sake.

I sidestepped, causing him to stumble before checking himself and turning around. I aimed a punch to his gut.

He grunted and made a grab for my wrist. I tried pulling away, but it was too late. He spun me, wrapping my wrist around myself as he pinned me against his chest, using my own arm as a method to choke me. I could feel my inner elbow cutting into my throat.

I knew that if the right amount of pressure was applied, I could be out in no less than three seconds.

I immediately reached around to his neck. I knew of a pressure point located right behind in between the shoulder blades, and if you pushed hard enough it hurt like hell. I used this knowledge to my advantage, and Josh quickly let go.

I spun and took the one second of opportunity I had to hit him real good in the trachea, and then followed up with a kick to his stomach. I was careful to not punch too hard. I knew I could kill him if I used too much pressure on his throat, but the amount I used was all I needed.

He fell to his knees, panting. I was about to knee him in the face, but just as I brought my leg up his hand snaked out and gripped my other ankle, jerking me and making me fall flat on my ass. It _hurt._

I didn't have enough time to get up as he straddled me and punched me in the cheek. I knew I'd have a wicked bruise tomorrow.

I didn't know what to do, except for lay there and get my ass whooped, which wasn't an option. Josh was still aiming punches at my face, and I was feebly dodging them, shielding myself with my arms. I could feel the embarrassment in me flare up.

I don't know where it came from, but I guess it was some instinct that led me to lift both of my legs far enough up so that I could bring them around to the front of Josh, where I then proceeded to use all of my leg strength to kick him in the chest. It had the effect I wanted, and Josh went flying off of me.

I jumped up, taking his earlier position and straddling him. I knew it would be nearly impossible for him to repeat my escape because he wasn't as flexible. I started punching him, just like he did to me, only much harder. Again, I made sure that nothing was hard enough to kill him, knock him unconscious, or break bones. But he would be even more bruised than me tomorrow.

I stopped hitting him, instead wrapping my right arm around the back of his neck and gripping my right wrist with my left hand, executing a choke hold even more deadly than the one he had put me in. I faintly remembered hearing from somewhere that it was called an "arm-triangle choke hold". I shifted my lower body out of the way so that he wouldn't be able to get out. Moving onto my side, I applied more pressure.

I was just about ready to do a victory dance when he tapped my elbow urgently. I released him, jumping to my feet as the crowd of kids around me cheered.

Josh was glaring when he finally picked himself up off the ground. "No fair, Hathaway. You cheated!"

I smirked, and I tried to ignore the pain that shot through my jaw from where he hit me. "How so? Everything I did would be _perfectly_ legal in MMA, UFC, ju-jitsu, and boxing."

I had a point, and he knew it. He leaned in close to me, and I could see the nasty bruise above his eye already forming. "Fuck. You."

Usually, I'd jump on him again and kick his already-sore ass even more. But I just smiled. "According to you, I already did," I whispered, patting his cheek. "Speaking of which," I continued in an equally low voice, "if you don't tell everyone here _right now _that you were lying about me screwing you, I'll beat your ass to a pulp. Again."

"I'll help this time," I heard someone else chime in. I looked behind me and saw Jack, a good friend of mine since Lissa and I came here. He rested a hand on my shoulder. He was smirking and I knew that as a wrestler, he'd have no problem taking Josh on.

Josh scowled at both of us. "So what, are you two sleeping together too?"

Jack snarled at him, stepping forward like he was about to snap Josh's neck. I put my hand up, stopping him. "_Tell them_," I hissed at Josh again.

He glared fiercely at me before muttering, "I didn't sleep with Rose."

I cupped my hand around my ear. "I'm sorry, I don't think they heard that."

I almost squealed in delight as he looked out into the crowd and yelled, "I didn't sleep with Rose Hathaway!"

I opted for laughing instead. "That's so great to hear, because up until now I was convinced that I _did_ sleep with you! Thanks _so _much for setting me straight, Josh!" I smirked. "I'm sure you'll look amazing in a cheerleading skirt. Don't forget your pom-poms."

I grabbed Lissa and walked off, Jack and Madison following behind us as they asked how I beat up Josh so easily. Lissa laughed and complimented me on my skills.

Yup. I was definitely _not_ a hollaback girl.

* * *

**Seriously, guys! **Pleaseee review! I'm begging here! And yeah, just like I said earlier, leave a suggestion (if you want!) in that review for my next chapter. Sorry this took so long to post. I honestly have no excuse.

**And for those of you wondering what exactly a "hollaback girl" is, **it comes from the term "holler back girl", which is someone that (when verbally assaulted) uses words to fight back. Rose uses_ fists _to fight back, so therefore she isn't a hollaback type of person, although she does certainly use words to fight too. . . . Haha.**  
xoxo,  
**Ryan


	6. The Meeting

**Hey guys, this chapter is from Adrian's point of view, **from when he first met Rose at the ski-lodge in Frostbite. Enjoy** :)**

* * *

I watched with an amused smile on my face as she walked up the steps of the porch, pausing to stomp the snow from her boots. She didn't know I was there, and for the moment that was fine with me. I had watched her ski with the redhead, and boy, was she something. I could tell just from observing her that she was different from the rest; she had a fiery personality and a "fuck-you" attitude, but at the same time there was something about her that made you instantly drawn to her. It was almost like the natural charisma I seemed to have, only I had the feeling hers' probably repelled more people than it attracted.

I took a drag from my cigarette before addressing her. "Hey, little dhampir."

Her head snapped up, eyes instantly finding me leaning against the wall near the door. Surprise flit across her features before she rearranged her face into a more guarded and slightly-annoyed look.

I brought the cigarette back up to my mouth, inhaling the spicy-sweet smoke before dropping it to the ground and stepping on it. I grinned at her.

She crossed her arms, and my grin widened as I watched her scrutinize me, looking me up and down. "Yeah?" she finally asked. God, there was something about her that was so familiar.

_Maybe she was at one of the parties I've been to, _my internal voice said. Yeah. Looking at her more closely, she kinda looked like the party type. Not to mention that she had killer curves and was insanely hot, despite her bulky ski clothes and black eye. Speaking of which, I wondered what happened there. . . .

I shrugged, finished staring for the moment. "Just saying hi, that's all."

She stood there, not saying anything. I stuffed my hands in my coat pocket, unconsciously reaching for another cigarette before rethinking. I had a feeling smoking another cigarette seconds after stomping out one would turn her off.

She shrugged then, taking a few steps forward. The movement, plus the cold and blowing wind, carried her scent to me. My God, she smelled incredibly sexy. I couldn't stop myself from voicing my thoughts. "You smell good, you know."

She stopped again, giving me an odd look as she cocked her head to the side. I grinned wider, flirting with my mouth.

"I . . . um, what?"

She was cute when she was confused. Hell, she was cute no matter what she did. "You smell good," I repeated.

"Are you joking? I've been sweating all day. I'm disgusting."

I leaned my head back against the wall and looked up towards the sky. Such a typical girl thing to say. They always thought they looked oh-so-horrible when guys were thinking the dirtiest things about them at the same time. "Sweat isn't a bad thing," I told her, still looking up. "Some of the best things in life happen while sweating." Like sex. But I'd keep my mind out of the gutter for the time being. "Yeah, if you get too much of it and it gets old and stale, it turns pretty gross. But on a beautiful woman? Intoxicating. If you could smell things like a vampire does, you'd know what I'm talking about." I knew I was going off on one of my long rants again, but I couldn't help it. A part of me wanted to let her know how beautiful she was despite her current state. "Most people mess it all up and drown themselves in perfume. Perfume can be good . . . especially if you get one that goes with your chemistry. But you only need a hint. Mix about 20 percent of that with 80 percent of your own perspiration . . . mmm." I turned my head to look at her. "Dead sexy."

Her expression turned thoughtful as she looked past me. "Well, thanks for the hygiene lesson," she said, turning back to stare up at me. "But I don't own any perfume, _and _I'm going to go shower all this hot sweaty action off me. Sorry."

I could hear the slight note of sarcasm in her tone. I knew she would be- Wait a minute, she doesn't own _perfume_? I made a mental note to change that.

My hand twitched for my cigarettes again and I decided that I had waited long enough. I pulled the entire pack out, offering it to her.

She shook her head, and I proceeded to grab one for myself before depositing the pack in my pocket.

"Bad habit," she murmured, watching me light up.

I almost smirked. She had no idea. "One of many," I said, taking a puff of the cigarette. "You here with St. Vlad's?" I asked her. I was aware that there were a bunch of little kiddies from the Academy running around here.

"Yup," she replied.

"So you're going to be a guardian when you grow up." I briefly wondered how old she was. From her body, she could've been nineteen or twenty. Her behavior was that of a five year old. But her attitude was purely that of a teenager.

"Obviously."

That just further proved my point. I exhaled, watching the smoke dissipate in the night air. "How long until you grow up?" I asked. I hoped it was soon. If she wasn't so hot, I'd shoot myself for flirting with a kid. Cradle-robbing wasn't my thing. But if she was old enough. . . . "I might need a guardian." That'd be nice, having a gorgeous guardian. I wonder if she'd let me dress her.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, an unconscious action. "I graduate in the spring. But I'm already spoken for. Sorry."

My eyes widened. Already spoken for? By _who_? I'd be damned if it was some Moroi jackass who didn't deserve her. Especially a Zeklos. I don't care how much money I'd have to dish out, I wouldn't subject her to being a fucking slave. "Yeah? Who is he?" I was well aware that my tone was that of a jealous boyfriend, but I didn't care. I _was_ jealous, and I probably wasn't far from being her boyfriend. Or so I hoped.

"_She's_ Vasilisa Dragomir."

"Ah." So that's why she was so familiar! I'd heard of this one before. "I knew you were trouble as soon as I saw you. You're Janine Hathaway's daughter."

Her eyes narrowed further, a slight frown appearing on her face. "I'm Rose Hathaway," she corrected.

"Nice to meet you, Rose Hathaway," I said, extending my hand for her to shake. She hesitated briefly before grasping it. "Adrian Ivashkov."

"And you think _I'm _trouble," she muttered, removing her hand from mine and taking a step back.

I laughed. So she'd heard of me too. "Handy, huh? Each of our reputations precedes us."

Rose shook her head, and I noticed that she also had beautiful hair. I knew it had to be as silky-smooth as it looked. "You don't know anything about me. And I only know of your _family_. I don't know anything about you."

That could be changed. "Want to?" I teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry. I'm not into older guys."

I could see that. But hey, you can't blame me for trying, am I right? "I'm twenty-one. Not that much older."

"I have a boyfriend," she said quickly.

"Funny you didn't mention that right away," I mused. With the way she was responding to my come-on's and flirting, she was making it clear she wasn't interested. I would've expected her to mention a boyfriend before we even made introductions.

But in spite of her tone leading me to believe otherwise, I recalled the redhead boy she had been skiing with. He certainly hadn't looked like her type, but she seemed comfortable with him, and he had definitely been into her.

I looked at her face, noticing the purplish bruise under her eye once again. "He didn't give you that black eye, did he?"

I watched a light blush creep over her skin. "He wouldn't be alive if he did. I got it during . . . practice. I mean, I'm training to be a guardian." I was curious what other practice she could've possibly meant. "Our classes our always rough."

I grinned. "That's pretty hot," I said, stomping out my second cigarette.

Rose's face scrunched up. "Punching me in the eye?"

My smile quickly dried up. "Well, no. Of course not. I meant that the idea of getting rough with you is hot." And like that, I was grinning like the Cheshire cat again. "I'm a big fan of full-contact sports."

"I'm sure you are," she said dryly, smirking.

I was about to comment on that when the sound of footsteps came from behind Rose. I looked over, and she turned away towards the sound.

A small blonde Moroi was walking up the steps, but stopped when she saw us. I watched her take us both in. "_Another _guy?" she asked in a disbelieving tone.

I looked back at Rose, amused but also interested. Was she implying that Rose was some sort of female player? That'd be insanely hot.

Rose gritted her teeth, ignoring the girl's comment. "Mia, this is Adrian Ivashkov," she said instead. So Rose didn't like this girl.

I wasn't nearly as interested in this girl as I was in Rose. From the looks of her, Rose was much hotter, and if I thought getting with the dhampir would be cradle-robbing, the Moroi would practically make me a child molester.

I reached out to shake her hand. "Always a pleasure to meet a friend of Rose's, especially a pretty one," I said, hoping my charm would cause Rose to jealously tackle her as a way to win me over.

"We aren't friends," Rose muttered.

So much for girl-on-girl action.

"Rose only hangs out with guys and psychopaths," Mia said. She apparently didn't have warm and fuzzy feelings for Rose either.

"Well," I said happily, enjoying this soap-opera worthy moment. I hadn't had this much excitement in my life in a while. "Since I'm both a psychopath and a guy, that would explain why we're such good friends."

"You and I aren't friends either," Rose told me, turning to glare at me.

I just laughed. "Always playing hard to get, huh?"

"She's not that hard to get," Mia commented, looking back and forth between me and Rose. She alternated between glowering at Rose and practically batting her eyelashes at me. I almost laughed again from the envy radiating off of her. Too bad Rose didn't feel the same right now.

All in due time. . . .

"Just ask half the guys at our school," Mia continued.

"Yeah," Rose shot back, "and you can ask the other half about Mia. If you can do a favor for her, she'll do _lots_ of favors for you."

They must've had a history of harassing the other. I'm also going out on a limb here when I say Mia must not be a virgin.

Mia's embarrassed expression confirmed this. "Well at least I don't do them for free."

I coudldn't help the couple of cat-calls and wolf-whistles coming from my mouth. Yep, definitely the most fun I've had in a while. This was getting good. Next, I'll probably find out that one of them have a baby.

"Are you done?" Rose retorted. "It's past your bedtime, and the grown-ups would like to talk now."

Something inside of me warmed at Rose's implication that she'd stay out and talk to me longer.

"Sure," Mia said scathingly, her cheeks tinting pink. Rose was spot-on with the kiddy jokes. Mia could pass for eleven. "I have better things to do anyway." She stalked off towards the door, then paused and turned at the last moment, staring at me. "Her mom gave her that black eye, you know." And then she turned on her heel to go inside, not even sparing a look at Rose.

This called for another cigarette.

Neither me nor Rose said anything. Finally, I had to break the silence. I needed to know if this was true. "Your mom?" I asked casually, lighting the cigarette.

"Shut up," she mumbled.

I smirked. "You're one of those people who either has soul mates or mortal enemies, aren't you? No in-between. You and Vasilisa are probably like sisters, huh?"

"I guess," she said.

"How is she?" I asked. I couldn't help asking. I'd heard about both the accident and Dashkov. Something like that probably would've killed me.

I grimaced inwardly at the accidental pun. Both of those situations hit a little too close to home for exactly what had happened to my cousin. But I'd also heard rumors about her going insane from the stress of everything. Cutting, therapy, emotional and suicidal behavior. . . . I didn't believe the last one, but I hoped the others weren't true either.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

I shrugged lightly, trying not to dampen the mood. I was happy talking to Rose, and I didn't want her shutting down on me. "I don't know. I mean, I know you guys ran away . . . and there was that stuff with her family and Victor Dashkov. . . ."

She stiffened. "So?"

I feigned nonchalance. "Dunno. Just figured it would be a lot for her to, you know, handle." That wasn't all. I also realized that Vasilisa's rumored behavior matched my own at times. I didn't think about killing myself or putting a razor to my wrist or anything, but at times I have thought about cutting. Just as a way to get out the dark feelings that randomly churned inside of me. I drank and smoked instead, though, since cutting was just a little too extreme for me.

Rose studied me with a suspicious look, thinking over what I said. She showed a lot of overprotective behavior towards Vasilisa. She's make a good guardian one day.

Suddenly, she said, "I've got to go."

"Are you sure?" I asked. I tried to cover up my disappointment with cockiness and charm. "I thought it was time for the grown-ups to talk. Lots of grown-up things I'd like to talk about." Oh God, could I sound more perverted?

She glared at me, pissed. "It's late, I'm tired, and your cigarettes are giving me a headache," she growled.

"I suppose that's fair." I sucked on my cigarette again and exhaled the smoke. "Some women think they make me look sexy."

"I think you smoke them so you have something to do while thinking up your next witty line."

I choked on the smoke, laughing in the middle of inhaling again. This girl would be the death of me, if not literally. "Rose Hathaway, I can't wait to see you again. If you're this charming while tired and annoyed _and_ this gorgeous while bruised and in ski clothes, you must be devastating at your peak."

"If by 'devastating' you mean that you should fear for your life, then yeah. You're right." She pulled the door open in a swift, almost-violent motion. "Good night, Adrian."

I grinned. "I'll see you soon." She'd be surprised at just how soon that would be. I almost chuckled out loud at the thought of getting to show her my dream-walking trick.

"Not likely," she said. "I told you, I'm not into older guys." She went on to walk inside the lodge.

"Sure, you aren't," I called out. I knew she'd hear me, but I almost hoped she didn't know what I meant. She had no idea that I could see what went on between her and her so-called mentor.

* * *

**What'd you think? **Review please! And if you guys have any other scenes that you'd like to see done in someone else's point of view, P.M. me or put it in your review** :)  
xoxo,  
**Ryan


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